Chaparral, the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) from Mexico.
Known as chaparral or greasewood, and in Spanish as gubernadora or hediondilla, this North American species grows in the arid regions of the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas) and Mexico.
Chaparral is adapted to extreme drought and can withstand long dry periods as well as high temperature fluctuations (-5 °C in winter and 47 °C in summer). The creosote bush is an evergreen and thornless shrub that grows 1 to 4 meters tall.
In order to reproduce safely in the adverse climate, it reproduces sexually through its nut fruits and also vegetatively through budding soil-covered branches or lateral roots. The creosote bush's root system consists of a taproot up to 80 centimeters long and lateral roots up to 3 meters long, which traverse the surrounding soil so effectively that they soak up every drop of water in the immediate area. No other plant can survive nearby, not even its own seedlings. Therefore, it expands by forming new stems from lateral roots, which are more survivable than young shoots from seeds. The inner stems die as soon as the outer ones are strong enough to survive. Thus, the creosote bush expands into a larger and larger ring, growing and growing so that cresote bushes reach an average age of 625 to 1250 years.
There is even a chaparral estimated to be 11,700 years old, the King Clone in Lucerne Valley in the Mojave Desert.
It belongs to Eurosides I and the yoke-leaf family (Zygophyllaceae), genus: Larrea
Traditional use
For centuries, the herb of creosote bush has been used.
Before using it as a tea, leaves and small twigs are washed and dried in the sun for 2 months and ground into powder.
Please note: After the use of creosote bush preparations was linked to liver and kidney damage, the use of NDGA as a food additive (antioxidant) has been severely restricted in many countries.
